Learning to Communicate

[Thanks so much for all the support and interest in the story. Sorry this is a short chapter. It includes a very important detail though, I promise. =) Thanks again and keep those reviews coming. I am that vain.]

Cast of Characters (so far):
Gerard - lonely loser
Mikey - his brother
Anna - Mikey's pregnant wife
And...Frankie- Gerard's new companion


This was the plan. Anna was going to come over and watch Frankie while I went to work. I just didn't feel like he should be left alone. I also didn't feel like my apartment should be left alone with him either. Who knew what damage he'd do by the end of the day? He had slept the night in my bed, twitching and shifting all through my sleeplessness. I did not know whether it was sharing the bed after so long or something else, but I never managed to get around to anything more than dozing off. I walked through my morning routine while Frank lost himself under all of my sheets, usually nothing besides an ear or a few toes visible. When the doorbell rang, he sat up, looking around even though he was still under a blanket. Anna brought me lunch. It was a nice gesture, so I didn't tell her that I usually spent my lunch hour alone, staring at my screen saver. It was my own way of saving money and losing weight. She settled herself down on the couch. I left on time for once.

I have the world's most boring job. I sit in a cubicle most of the day, typing up whatever people give me. I rewrite notes, proposals, memo, etc. into formal documents or reformat them to fit into the office software. I don't even think I have a title. Maybe glorified secretary. Either way, a great deal of my work day is spent on Internet Chess. That, and standing in front of the copy machine while two hundred papers are copied about why employees need to stick to the professional dress code. I often wondered if anyone would notice if a drew a penis on the memo and then copied it.

I grunted. My parking space was taken again. My day was already both bad and typical of everyday I decide to wake up and drag myself forth into the world.

..::||~*~||::..

"Hey Gerard."

"Hey Sam," I said, glancing over my shoulder. He rolled into my cubicle. Sam was pretty much the only guy I talked to around here. "What'd you do this weekend?" he asked, spinning around in his chair idly.

"Uh, not much," I said slowly. I was not ready to talk about Frank to anyone here at work. "You?"

"Beverly tried to get me to break up with her again," he said blandly. Sam and his girlfriend were always fighting about something. Usually it was highly entertaining. I had been out with them after work a few times, but mostly I loved hearing them on the phone. I smiled despite myself, and moved my rook on my computer screen. "Johnson," said Sam, rolling into his cubicle again. I downsized my Chess window and pulled up a file directory as Mr. Johnson came towards my desk.

"Great Monday, isn't it, Mr. Way?" he asked, his same bluish-gray mug of coffee in his hand.

"Fantastic," I lied.

"Listen, I have a rather large stack of numbers that I'm going to need copied before two. Is that a problem?" he asked. His voice made me grind my teeth sometimes. He sounded bored. Half awake. Or half dead, depending on how you looked at it.

"No sir. I'll just work through lunch," I mumbled. I looked sadly at the little sack Anna had given me. It had a smiley face drawn on it.

"Great, Great." He left, his droning voice carrying off to ruin the "great Monday" other employees were probably not having.

..::||~*~||::..

I pushed open my apartment door to find Anna and Frankie on the couch watching cartoons. She smiled. "Hey there, how was it?" she asked. Anna had the kind of face you could never be mean or bitter to. Looking at her could almost make you feel better for no reason.

"Not...too bad," I said. I set down my bag and sat in the chair. Frankie was sleeping, his head on her leg. "Was he all over the place all day?" I asked, eyeing him. He slept with his lips slightly parted, and they formed a tiny 'oh' look. Sometimes his eyebrows moved a little. Maybe he was dreaming. I wondered if his leg would wiggle like a dog's.

"Actually, he was really good all day," she said, running his fingers through the mess of brown hair. He smiled. I thought I might, but didn't. I don't smile a lot. "Do you think he's going to need a babysitter tomorrow?" I asked. She shook her head. "I could still come if you want, you know I don't mind," she said sweetly.

"You do enough already for me," I told her. She said I looked tired. She gently moved Frank from her lap and stood, and I helped her out, fishing her car keys from her bag and telling her to tell Mikey to call me later if he wanted. She agreed, and squeezed my hand on the way out. "Smile Gerard. You look so handsome when you do." I did. Just for her. She sometimes teased me and said the only place I always smiled were their wedding photos.

I really liked Anna. I had been really happy for both of them when they got married. My brother had always been far luckier than I when it came to relationships. His girlfriends never liked me though. Anna was not like that. She had never once called me creepy or dark or gross like his other girlfriends. Sometimes, I wondered if she had met me first, if she would have dated me instead. I guess I could honestly say I was a little jealous. I was not jealous of Anna, just that they had each other and were really happy. And as much as they included me in their life, I still felt like the third wheel. The two of them together had sent me on a string of bad blind dates through their first year of marriage. Both men and women. Another reason I liked Anna was because she was completely cool with my often confused and very wayward sexuality. All in all, they stopped trying eventually, and ecspecially after finding out about Anna's pregnancy.

I glanced over at Frankie. He was staring at me. He smiled. I did not. He scooted towards the end of the couch, closer to the chair I was sitting in. I watched silently. He reached out, his fingers groping for my hand. I watched as he picked up my fingers, his eyes peering over the couch arm in fascination and his long, lean figure streched out along the cushions. My fingers were so cold compared to his. I wondered if he could feel that. I watched as his fingers ran up and down my hand, touching my knuckles, running around my wrist, and then turning it palm up. He traced the lines in my palm with his index finger. I was too tired to fight him off.

"Are you hungry?" His ears moved at the sound of my voice. His eyes met mine. He had no idea what I was saying. "What do you like to eat? Pancakes? Sandwhiches? Chickens?" I continued. I sighed. I felt like I had to keep talking to fill the silence between us. "Sometimes, I wish I could come home and have a meal waiting for me already. I know that sounds old fashioned, but at least once it would be nice. No eating over the sink some cold cereal or whatever. An actual meal, with some actual company." I looked at him. He was chewing on his shirt collar. "Company that talks back and doesn't drool on itself."

I sighed and got to my feet. Frankie followed me into the kitchen, stalking right on the heels of my shoes. He walked so close to me sometimes I could feel his breath in my hair. I pulled open the fridge and got out the eggs. "Scrambled eggs. You can eat eggs. Your digestive system is just like mine, hmm?" I told him. I bent down to pull out a pan. Frank grabbed me around the legs. There he stayed, balled up around my feet while I made dinner. This was the beginning of what would become an every night event.

I grated cheese into the pan as well, listening to the news and feeling Frankie's fingers run under the hem of my pants, touching my ankle and playing with my shoelaces.